Mandarin Duck

[Kerry Perkins]

These colorful relatives of the Wood Duck can be found here in my home town, hanging out with the Mallards and Coots at the local duck pond. This one was captured at the LA Arboretum, a really great place to photograph birds, flowers, trees, and landscapes.

1D4, 400mm f/5.6
Manual mode, f/5.6@1/1000, ISO 800 WB 5100K
AI Servo autofocus, HH, 580EX II FEC -1 2/3 E-TTL mode Evaluative

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Kerry,

Nice use of fill flash - we also have Mandarin Ducks in one of our nearby parks and getting a good exposure to reflect all the colours so well isn't so easy.

[John Goldman]

Wonderful portrait, Kerry. Colors, focus, composition, subject all very nice. For me, nothing not to like here.

[Ian Cassell]

Very nice portrait, Kerry! I love the colors. You're shooting a 1D4?

[nancy hazen]

Beautiful Kerry. The colors really pop! Great detail also.

[Don Davis]

Another bird ive been lucky enough to have photographed about 3yrs ago never seen one since,Beautiful image thanks Kerry.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Kerry,

Good comments and I will add two more. I like the flash setting (-1 2/3) just enough to add a layer of fill to bring out all the colors. You did not over saturate the image and let the colors come through in a natural state - which is stunning - beautiful creature!

[Kerry Perkins]

Thanks everyone for your comments! After looking at this image a lot I decided I should clean up the water a bit...

Ian, yes I gave myself a 1D4 for Christmas.

[SteveYoung]

Kerry, I have a question about your technique on this one. Why did you decide to use a high ISO for a shot with fill flash? It would seem unnecessary but I have very little experience with flash and it's hard to argue with the results. Just curious what the thought process on this was. Thanks!

[Kerry Perkins]

Steve, the basic rule for fill flash (as opposed to flash as primary light source) is that the image should be properly exposed without the flash - hence the term "fill flash". It is just filling in the areas that need a little extra illumination. In this case, it was an overcast day and I was shooting everything at ISO 800 to keep my shutter speed up. The 400 f/5.6 lens is not image stabilized, so I needed all the help I could get.